Post date: 09-Jan-2017 13:34:03
Entries for the Kidlington Tournament (Saturday & Sunday 4 & 5 February) are coming in steadily. We have 52 entrants already, rather more than at the same stage last year. I hope we will have a particularly good turnout of local players for this year's tournament, supporting and celebrating with us our landmark 40th year. So I invite you to come along to play if you can. The tournament website contains a list of Entries submitted so far which is regularly updated.
To enter the tournament, you can print out a copy of the entry form appended to this post and deliver it with your entry fee to me either by post or in person. Alternatively, if you prefer, you may take advantage of the new online entry option this year by using the online entry form on the Enter Kidlington 2017 page on the Kidlington Chess Tournament website. You may wish to bear in mind that our discount for early entries is available only until this coming Saturday, 14 January.
The tournament has four sections catering for all strengths of player: Open, Under-180, Under-145 and Under-120. Each section has five rounds, three on Saturday, two on Sunday. (A half-point bye can be taken in any one of the first four rounds.) The prize fund has been increased to £1970, including a new Under-90 grading prize in the Under-120 section. Full details can be found on the tournament website.
This year the result of the newly revived Oxfordshire Individual Chess Championship will also be decided at Kidlington. The winner will be the eligible player with the highest score from the Open sections at the Witney Congress held last October and at Kidlington in February combined. (This does not necessarily require you to have played in both events, though if those eligible players who played in the Open section at Witney enter Kidlington, too, they will naturally have a head start.) For further details of eligibility see the Oxfordshire Individual Chess Championship page on the website.
Kidlington is an ECF Grand Prix event, and again in 2017 a British Championship Qualifying Tournament, with the winner of the top section (or, if he/she is already qualified, the next-highest-placed eligible player) qualifying for a place in the 2017 British Chess Championship to be held in Llandudno from 28th July – 6th August 2017.
Even if you cannot play at Kidlington this year, you will be most welcome to come along during the weekend as a spectator. As usual, we shall have the excellent bookstall provided by Chess Direct, and a fine range of refreshments provided by Hackett's Food & Drink of Witney.
Gerard O'Reilly
(Organizer, Kidlington Chess Tournament)